1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to leaf collecting apparatuses and more particularly pertains to lawn nets which may be positioned upon a lawn for collecting leaves over a period of time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of leaf collecting apparatuses is known in the prior art. More specifically, leaf collecting apparatuses heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of collecting leaves are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
For example, a debris collecting and bagging apparatus is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,277 which is constructed of a rigid frame having an opening that is completely surrounded with a supply of netting material that forms a netting bag. When the bag is filled to the desired capacity, the netting material is cut and tied at the open end to form a completely enclosed bag of refuse. A new netting bag may be formed from the supply of netting surrounding the rigid frame and the process repeated.
A lawn and leaf bag frame is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,427 which includes a U-shaped back frame, wheels attached to and extending behind the back frame, and a bag supporting platform pivotally connected to a lower end portion of the back frame which is tiltable upwardly from an extended position perpendicular to the back frame to a storage position in-line with the back frame. The cart also includes a pair of arms pivotally connected to the back frame which permit the bag supporting frame with a bag attached to be easily loaded upon and unloaded from the cart by sliding the bag supporting frame onto and off of the arms.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,365 which discloses a leaf bag spreader and holder. The device comprises an improved spreader for leaf bags which not only is collapsible for compact packaging and storage but is provided with ground engaging skids to permit the same to be dragged along a ground surface while simultaneously maintaining the mouth of a bag above the ground to prevent the bag from engaging the ground surface during the dragging operation.
While these devices fulfil their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a net which may be positioned upon a lawn for collecting leaves over a period of time without harming the lawn. Furthermore, none of the prior art leaf collecting apparatuses include a dispensing assembly for applying insecticide or fertilizer compounds to the lawn, nor do they include an adhesive applicator for supplying an adhesive to at least a portion of the netting material.
In these respects, the lawn net according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of collecting leaves from a lawn.